When He's Bad (Walker Security - Adrian's Trilogy 2)

Adrian’s eyes meet mine, and mine his, no avoidance between us. There is no question the pulse of our attraction is alive and well, and yet that wall Deleon sought to build, stands stronger than ever.

I walk to the mattress and sit down, leaning against the cavern wall, a good two feet between us now that feels like a mile. On some level, I think Deleon won. On another, I decide he lost in a big way. He solidified my need to make the sacrifices so many have made to take him and Waters down, count.

My gaze slides to the gun on Adrian’s left, and the bottle of whiskey in his right hand. “Drinking and a gun doesn’t seem like a good idea,” I dare.

“While in a cave with you,” he says, “it’s a perfect combination. Besides, my weapon is a part of me, an extension of who I am. Booze doesn’t change that.”

I inhale on a punch of emotions I cannot name, and my lashes lower, fingers curling by my sides. This push and pull between us is brutal. There’s no cooling off between us, just different degrees and types of heat. He’s already decided we’re enemies, and I pray that’s not true.

“Right,” I say, and when I open my eyes, he’s tilting back the whiskey.

I realize then that no substantial question I ask will be met with a productive answer, not tonight. “Do you have paper and a pen?” I ask.

He uses the whiskey bottle to indicate the boxes by the wall. “If we have it, it’s in there.”

We.

Well, at least “we” still exist in some way for him. I crawl to the boxes, find a pad and pen, and then return to my spot on the mattress against the wall. It’s time to get focused. Tomorrow, if all goes right, I’ll be pushing Deleon to roll over. Adrian might not think that’s possible, but when someone faces life behind bars, something inside them shifts. In Deleon’s case, we witnessed him stab a man who I pray is still alive.

My mind flashes with an image of Agent Pitt gasping for air, and then the blood, so much blood, pouring from his body. I have to make Deleon and Waters pay. I have a job to do and I am now officially focused on that job. I start prepping for that interview, writing down questions, strategies, angles. I don’t know how much time passes, but my hand has cramped when I’ve finished five pages of notes. At this point, Adrian’s head is resting against the wall, his eyes shut. That’s where he’s going to sleep. That’s how much he wants to avoid me.

With a clench of my gut, I set my work aside and lie down, shivering with the damp cave and pulling a blanket over me. In that moment, I feel alone, which was far more comfortable before I met Adrian. Funny how one soul meets another and everything changes. He did the impossible. He found me and I didn’t even know I was lost.

I’m just not sure I actually found him, or that I ever will.Chapter TenPRI

The drip-drop of water once again echoes through the cold cavern. It’s raining again. Maybe it never stopped.

I lie on the mattress and stare at the ceiling, certain I won’t be able to sleep. Rolling over, I face Adrian and find his eyes are on me, and in the shadows of his stare there is a story to read, one with no happy ending. It’s a story of torment, pain, and brutality and I realize he wants me to understand the latter, the brutality. As if he is done trying to hide it, only I already read this book, at least this dark chapter. I already know he’s lethal and so is the gun next to him. What he doesn’t understand, nor do I, is that it seems to work for me. In fact, I think it’s because of these things, because I know he’s a killer, that I’m able to shut my eyes. And when I do, the heaviness of a long day, a grueling physical and emotional explosion of a day, overtakes me. I shut my eyes and I’m back in the cabin, reliving it all. Pitt falling to the ground. Adrian and Deleon rolling around on the floor. Adrian stabbing Deleon. I was certain he was dead and for just a moment, I wished it were true. That’s why I didn’t immediately hand Adrian the rope. I thought Deleon was dead.

I glance over at Adrian and the bottle of whiskey is still in his hand. No help there to numb the events of the day. Not unless I want to take it from him, and I get the feeling he doesn’t want to be bothered. I force my eyes shut and tell myself I have to sleep. I have to be fresh to interview Deleon. I start counting sheep, literally, for the first time in my life.